Lone parent changes may worsen child poverty

Child Poverty Action Group has warned that the programme of changes starting tomorrow to force lone parents onto Jobseekers Allowance instead of Income Support could worsen child poverty and takes no account of the looming recession.

This follows the recent public comments of Sir Richard Tilt, the head of the government expert body of advisers, the Social Security Advisory Committee, calling for the changes to be suspended.

Chief Executive, Kate Green, said:

“Most lone parents do have a job and many more want one. The big problems lone parents face include lack of affordable childcare and employers who won’t be flexible around childcare needs. This means a lot more lone parents lose their job in the first year than other employees.

“Tough penalties to make lone parents look for work may grab headlines, but they won’t work in practice. They could force parents into poverty pay work that leaves them financially worse off, or cut their benefits by 40%, seriously undermining the Government’s promise to end child poverty.

“With recession looming, lone parents will have to compete with more flexible, higher skilled claimants recently made redundant. The resources behind this misguided approach would be better invested in childcare and training. And if the government is going to get tough, it should be with employers who discriminate against lone parents.

“The Government’s expert advisers are right – these changes should be immediately suspended.”

Notes for editors

• A highly successful voluntary approach has seen a dramatic rise in lone parent employment in the last 10 years, up 11 percentage points to 57% in work.
• Improving job retention for lone parents to the same standard as for other employees would by itself be enough to meet the government target of a 70% lone parent employment rate.
• The new regulations make no provision for lone parents who have experienced domestic violence and are recovering from the emotional and practical consequences.
• The regulations limit the ability of lone parents to undertake education and training as JSA rules do not allow ful-time education, unlike the more flexible rules of IS. This will stop lone parent preparing to compete for well paid work once the job market starts growing again.
• CPAG is the leading charity campaigning for the abolition of child poverty in the UK and for a better deal for low-income families and children.
• CPAG is one of over 130 member organisations of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, campaigning for public and political commitment to ensure the goals of halving child poverty by 2010 and ending child poverty by 2020 are met.

For further information please contact:
Tim Nichols
CPAG Press Officer
Tel. 020 7812 5216 or 07816 909302
tnichols@cpag.org.uk